The Jewish Historical Institute (JHI) is the only institution in Poland focused entirely on the study of the history and culture of Polish Jews. It is the largest depository of Jewish-related archival documents, books, journals, and museum objects. The preservation of collections which document the past richness of Jewish experience in Poland is a starting point for expanding and making them meaningful to the public. In democratic Poland there has been enormous demand for reliable information about Jews and their life, their role in Polish history and culture. Filling in the blanks in public consciousness and correcting harmful distortions are guiding principles of the work done at JHI, be it reference service, research projects, education, exhibits, or publishing.
The Institute is located in the building of the former Main Judaic Library, built during the years 1928-1936. The building housed library space, reading rooms, large auditorium and exhibition rooms. The Institute for Judaic Studies was also located in the new building. Opened on February 9, 1928, the Institute became the first academic and educational center in Europe to include both theological and lay subjects side by side, both historical and social sciences.
The war and German occupation meant a stop to the activities at Main Judaic Library and the Institute for Judaic Studies. In November and December 1939, Germans removed the library collections. The building, soon included in the ghetto, at that time housed the Jewish Social Self-Help organization. Literary evenings were held here, as well as theater productions, events for children, and symphony concerts - the first of which took place on November 25, 1940. The clandestine Oneg Shabbat (Joy of Sabbath) group, which was founded by the historian Emanuel Ringelblum, also met here.
In 1946, Warsaw government officials gave the half-ruined building to the Central Committee of Jews in Poland (Centralny Komitet Żydów w Polsce - CKŻP), which had been founded in late November 1944 in Lublin, in the part of Poland that had already been liberated. CKŻP's first decision was to call into being the Central Jewish Historical Commission (Centralna Żydowska Komisja Historyczna - CŻKH). Its members began trying to preserve material traces of the past: books, archival materials, religious objects, paintings and sculptures. At the same time, evidence of Nazi crimes was also collected. All of the materials collected were deposited in the Jewish Historical Institute in the building on Tłomackie Street, rebuilt and reopened in May 1947 through the efforts of Jewish foreign organizations.
This is how JHI came to fulfill the role of guardian of the richest collection of objects of Jewish culture that survived the Holocaust. At the same time, it became the only Jewish academic institution in Poland, and, until recently, the only institution of its kind in East Central Europe.
The Institute is comprised of five main sections: the archive, library, museum, academic research and education division, section dealing with documentation of historical sites, and genealogical research section. The Institute also has its own laboratories for paper conservation and for the microfilming of archival materials. The Jewish Historical Institute Association is the corporate body responsible for the building and the Institute's holdings. The Institute falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, and is financed principally with funds from the Ministry of Science.
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The building of the Jewish Historical Institute, at left, flanked by the Great Synagogue (photo from 1943).
Dr. Eleonora Bergman and Professor Dr. Feliks Tych examining documents in the Jewish Historical Institute's collections.
An archivist at the Jewish Historical Institute.
